Concrete Rodeo

This is the Gromfest video from Concrete Rodeo - Land is one of the qualifiers along with his friend Austin- I have watched most of these young skaters keep at it since they were small. I can't sleep so I thought I'd post something fun.

Gratitude

I am emotionally overwhelmed, but my thoughts and heart are with a three year old little girl who calls me "dee" and her amazing family. She has been the inspiration for me to really pray again and reminded me what it is to have faith.

Raising Obama

Some have wondered exactly what Barack Obama's background is and what he has accomplished. Vanity Fair magazine has produced an excellent article entitled Raising Obama that is excellent. Oh and I might as well post a link to this article on Harry Connick Jr.

Je suis allergic du lait!

I wrote an abstract back in October and submitted it to the
Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) annual conference in Montreal, Quebec. It was accepted and my colleagues and I are going to the French speaking city in March to make the presentation. I also was selected as one of eight graduate scholars to attend the conference. I am grateful and humbled by the opportunity.

I've Been Tagged - Now What do I Do?

10 years ago I was playing 30 games of checkers a day with Land. My good friend was Lisa Gore and 10 years ago we cried our eyes out over the death of Princess Diana. I just celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary so 10 years ago I must have still been in love with Darren.

Snacks: chai tea, black licorice, cupcakes, chips and salsa

5 things on my to-do list tomorrow:
boot camp at 6 am, if I can get out of the driveway
teach space planning
get my new watch set to the right time
take the rest of the Christmas decorations down
watch Proof -- again

If I were a billionaire: (unimaginable)
Live in St. John, USVI, or Amsterdam, or both
Buy books
Go to Africa
Build a beach house
Go on a lot of 'good karma' pilgrimages

Bad habits include:
Messy office
Never matching the socks
I'm so slow at whatever I do

5 places I've called home:
Inglewood, CA.
Craig, CO.
Wellsville, UT.
Missoula, MT.
Lewiston, ID.

5 jobs:
physical therapy aide
gymnastics instructor
interior designer/teacher
needlepoint canvas painter
housekeeping (cleaning toilets) at the sports club

What you might not know about me...
I have an unhealthy obsession with Harry Connick Jr. (of course most people know that)
Land is named after Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh's son Land who lived in Montana where Land was born.
I delivered a 'fruit cake' to a cave man (ie: man living in a cave in Provo Canyon) with my roommate Mary and her uncle.
I was on the cover of the National High School Gymnastics Rulebook when I was 14.

So, Echo, Dixie, and Heidi, you're it.

Juno

So today I voted. I walked in to the Wellsville 01 precinct location and signed my name and before giving me my credit card to unlock the mysterious electronic voting machine the elderly election judge loudly blurts out, "You're a democrat?" as if I had an extra limb and was part of the circus side show. The three fiftyish gentlemen casting their vote looked disapprovingly at me, but I was already feeling confrontational, I had just finished having my yearly mammogram and let's be honest, it's just not right to do that to a breast, anyway these so-called men had their two-ton diesels idling in the parking lot on a red air day in Cache Valley. The nerve! The little old ladies whose circulation could probably benefit from keeping the car warm had turned off their engines and navigated the icy parking lot, and the manly exhaust, for the 10 minutes it took to vote. Argh! The things that get me steamed. I was really annoyed... so when I was passing the movie theater at 1:00 and saw that Juno was starting I bought a giant bag of popcorn and watched the show with two other people in the theater. I thought the movie was quite clever and like Juno felt that "normalcy isn't my style".
*note: Chase is 18 and voted for the first time - I am so proud.

Can You Feel it in the Air?

Look here...

Spiral Journey

I just saw this on the Slow Muse blog and it got my heart going (along with Super Tuesday tomorrow, and the six tons of snow in my driveway, and my lost suitcase trying to find it's way home and the general state of the world and...) To say I am overwhelmed and stressed is unnecessary, but three years ago I had a major health crisis and needed a day away from the world as I know it. My family embarked on a muddy, cold adventure to the Spiral Jetty on an Easter Sunday morning. There was something spiritual about this desolate space... it's as if the artist bore witness to its very existence by making a mark. An appropriate place to be on a day that marks resurrection, when your body and mind need a blessing. If you have been to the jetty or have yet to make the pilgrimage, please let your voice be heard.

Spiral Jetty threatened by energy development

UPDATE: 1/31: Comment period extended.

Nancy Holt, Robert Smithson's widow, recently sent an email out detailing specific threats to Smithson's masterpiece, Spiral Jetty.

Yesterday I received an urgent email from Lynn DeFreitas, Director of Friends of the Great Salt Lake, telling me of plans for drilling oil in the Salt Lake near Spiral Jetty. See Attachments. The deadline for protest is [today] Wednesday, at 5PM. Of course, DIA has been informed and are meeting about it today.

I have been told by Lynn that the oil wells will not be above the water, but that means some kind of industrial complex of pipes and pumps beneath the water and on the shore. The operation would require roads for oil tank trucks, cranes, pumps etc. which produce noise and will severely alter the wild, natural place.

If you want to send a letter of protest to save the beautiful, natural Utah environment around the Spiral Jetty from oil drilling, the emails or calls of protest go to Jonathan Jemming 801-537-9023 jjemming@utah.gov. Please refer to Application # 8853. Every letter makes a big difference, they do take a lot of notice and know that publicity may follow. Since the Spiral Jetty has global significance, emails from foreign countries would be of special value.

They try to slip these drilling contracts under the radar, that¹s why we found out so late, not through notification, but from a watchdog lawyer at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the group that alerted me to the land leasing for oil and gas near Sun Tunnels last May.

Thank you for your consideration of this serious environmental matter.

What happens in Vegas...

We are in Las Vegas to "work" for Bio-West. Yesterday we bought two trailers for crews to live in while working at Ash Meadows. Then we embarked on Target to supply the trailers with cozy conveniences. But... the great part of the night was seeing Jerry Seinfeld at the Colosseum. What's up with that? So so funny. Then I went to see Cirque du Soleil - the Beatles Love! Relentless eye candy - hand clapping - toe tapping - sing along extravaganza. Incredible!